SCHERZO DIABOLICO (2015)
Label: Dark Sky FilmsRelease Date: May 3, 2016
Duration: 91 Minutes
Rating: Unrated
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen (2.66:1)
Audio: Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0, 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Director: Adrián García Bogliano
Cast: Francisco Barreiro, Daniela Soto Vell, Jorge Molina , Milena Pezzi, Vita Vargas
Spanish writer/director Adrián García Bogliano has really made a name for himself since 2010 with the movies Cold Sweat (2010), Here Comes the Devil (2012), Late Phases (2014), and now the twisted revenger Scherzo Diabolico, starring Francisco Barreiro as a mild-mannered accountant named Aram. Aram is a man who is frustrated at work and at home, he feels that he has been unfairly passed over for a much deserved promotion at work despite being the hardest working guy in the office. Without spoiling too much of what transpires Aram hatches an abduction scheme, one that will bring him what he feels is owed.
We're not quite sure what the plan is all about as we are only fed bits and pieces pieces, but he is obviously tracking a particular young woman in her teens, logging her movements and whereabouts, making notes of her daily patterns into a small notebook. He also regularly sees a hooker who unknowingly helps him with his plan by letting him tie her up during their sex sessions, practicing his moves on her. Aram also practices his choke hold technique on his aging father who seems to suffer from dementia, which was a very sinister and twisted part of the story, particularly when his father begins to remember being choked out by his son. Meanwhile back at home his nagging wife complains about the long hours he puts in at work without any promotion or proper compensation, also denying him affection, which I think might be the reason he enacted this diabolical scheme of his in the first place, just to shut her up.
Again, without spoiling too much he does end up kidnapping the teenager and holds her against her will in a warehouse where subjects her to some unpleasantness but never goes the rape route, which is where I expected this one to go, but this movie subverted my expectations time and time again. All this is feeding into his plan which goes completely his way, but the fallout of his actions come back to bite him in the ass in spectacular in the end.
The script is pretty clever and fun, this one kept me scratching my head for quite some time as I tried to gain my bearings about where it was going, though not too clever for it's own good, but it is clever and filled to the brim with some tasty black humor. Something I loved about this one was how much of a sleazy exploitation movie it is, this thing is front-loaded with some nice full-figured women with gorgeous curves, we have his his ample-breasted wife, the horny hooker and a secret lover at work whom are all on full display, which I appreciated as a red-blooded male horror fan.
Daniela Soto Vell plays the kidnap victim, she plays it very well with a mixture of teenage toughness and teen-fright, at one point she is driven into a murderous rage and she is very convincing, though the initial outburst is tragic and awful. I like that the movie has some emotional weight about it, but not too much, this is still a fun slice of exploitation cinema.
The disc from Dark sky Films comes out on May 3rd and is loaded with goodies, beginning with two commentaries from the cast and crew, plus over an hour of behind-the-scenes featurettes and a trailer for the movie. Unfortunately there is no Blu-ray release for this one, though it is available in HD from video streaming services.
Special Features:
- Cast and Crew Commentary
- Director, Producers and Actors Commentary
- Behind Every Weak Man: The Female Characters of Scherzo Diabolico (18 Mins)
- A Diabolical Joke: The Technical Hell of Scherzo Diabolico (24 Mins)
- The Mephisto Waltz: Scoring Scherzo Diabolico (19 Mins)
- Music Video: "Anno Domini Satanicus" by Father and Son (5 Mins)
- Trailer (2 Mins)
I won't say much more about this vicious and twisted thriller from Bogliano other than to say I loved it from start to finish, it kept me guessing and it surprised me. If you love your thrillers that are pitch black this is a movie for you. Additionally there's also some good gore and shocking bits of violence for the gorehounds to enjoy, definitely keep an eye out for director Adrián García Bogliano, the writer/director has been banging out awesome genre cinema since 2010 and shows no signs of slowing down or repeating himself.
